Change Agents, Networks, and Institutions: A Contingency Theory of Organizational Change | Zendy

Julie Battilana | Zendy; Tiziana Casciaro | Zendy

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Change Agents, Networks, and Institutions: A Contingency Theory of Organizational Change

Author(s) -

Julie Battilana,

Tiziana Casciaro

Publication year - 2012

Publication title -

academy of management journal

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 11.193

H-Index - 318

eISSN - 1948-0989

pISSN - 0001-4273

DOI - 10.5465/amj.2009.0891

Subject(s) - organizational change , contingency theory , organizational theory , organizational behavior , contingency , knowledge management , business , psychology , process management , social psychology , public relations , economics , management , computer science , epistemology , political science , philosophy

We develop a contingency theory for how structural closure in a network, defined as terms of the extent to which an actor's network contacts are connected to one another, affects the initiation and adoption of change in organizations. Using longitudinal survey data supplemented with eight in-depth case studies, we analyze 68 organizational change initiatives undertaken in the United Kingdom's National Health Service. We show that low levels of structural closure (i.e., "structural holes") in a change agent's network aid the initiation and adoption of changes that diverge from the institutional status quo but hinder the adoption of less divergent changes.

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